Writers Group

A fellow blogger has started a writing group here in West Michigan and invited me to be a part of it. I felt timid going to into it because I've never written any fiction before. But I thought, what the heck, let's give it a try.

I'm amazed at how I'm enjoying this new writing experience. I am learning to step in the shoes of my character and look at the world through his eyes. He's a crusty character with plenty of foibles. Yet, I can see how much of his bad behavior is driven by own fears that he tries to cover up.

Seeing the movie, "Stranger Than Fiction" was helpful too. It reminded me to treat my character with some compassion. You'll understand what I mean if you see the movie. I highly recommend the movie. It's not your typical Will Ferrell movie.

The day before the last writers group met, I hadn't written anything so I had to write something during my lunch hour. I was stunned at how 2 1/2 pages of the story came tumbling out in just 30 minutes. Where did this come from? I hadn't thought about any of it ahead of time. It was just waiting there to be written. Wow.